Carpet cap strip



June 2, 1970 E. F. BERGQUIST CARPET CAP STRIP Original Filed Nov. 7.1966 ITIllV Ilm United States Patent O 3,514,914 CARPET CAP STRIP ErwinF. Bergquist, 22242 Del Valle, Woodland Hills, Calif. 91364 Continuationof application Ser. No. 592,422, Nov. 7, 1966. This application Aug. 22,1968, Ser. No. 755,514 Int. Cl. E04c 2/ 08; E04f 19/ 02 U.S. Cl. 52-2733 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Carpet coping and protective bumperstrip for use about the upturned edge of carpeting and formed ofresilient material securable to the wall by adhesive material withoutneed for tools or fasteners. The coping strip is of inverted I-shape incross section and includes inwardly projecting dirt-excluding ribs alongthe interior of its trough-shaped portion and a resilient feathered ribalong its upper wall-engaging edge readily conformable to irregularitiesand imperfections in the wall surface.

This is a continuation of application .592,422, filed Nov. 7, 1966, andnow abandoned.

This invention relates to cap strips and more particularly to a unitaryone-piece extruded strip of plasticV material adapted to be adhesivelybonded to a wall or a baseboard closely spaced above a iioor beingcarpeted and having a downturned resilient cap adapted to embrace andconceal the upturned edge of carpeting to hold the same firmly in placeand to exclude dirt and foreign matter.

New floor coverings include various departures in carpet constructionand makes feasible new modes of laying and securing carpeting in place.Certain of the new carpets include as an integral part resilient backingadmirably suited to be secured to the floor by adhesive bonding agents.Installation of such carpeting can be facilitated and new and improvedresults achieved by extending a narrow strip of the carpeting upwardlyalong the side wall or the baseboard, if one is present. However, thispractice leaves the upper selvage edge of the carpet exposed and free tocollect dirt and foreign matter. This is highly undesirable for obviousreasons.

Accordingly, it is the purpose of this invention to provide an improvedunitary cap or coping strip of resilient non-metallic material capableof being quickly and inexpensively secured to the side wall by bondingagents and featuring a downturned trough-shaped upper edge speciallyconstructed of resilient material and designed to interlock with the napto hold the carpeting concealed and gripped in its installed positionand cooperating therewith to exclude dirt and foreign matter. The newcap strip, being resilient, is capable of expansion and contraction ifnecessary to accommodate carpeting of differing thickness and to gripthe same firmly as well as to withstand iiexure and abuse throughout thelife of the carpeting. Among the features of the construction are ribsextending inwardly from the trough portion so arranged as to penetratedeeply into the carpet pile and to interlock therewith. Additionally,another thin and resilient rib having a sharp edge extends along theupper rear edge of the cap strip and resiliently engages the wallsurface to provide a fluid and dirt tight seal therewith even though thesurface is rough or uneven.

The cap strip is characterized by its strength, durability, inexpensivecharacter and low installation cost. As respects the latter feature, itis equally suited for installation against wood, plaster, and othertypes of walls and requires no tools for its installation.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading thefollowing specification and claims and upon considering in connectiontherewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment of theinvention is illustrated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the strip before mountingagainst a wall; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view on enlarged scale through the inventioncap strip and typical carpeting after installation.

Referring initially more particularly to FIG. l, there is shown apreferred embodiment of the invention cap strip designated generally 10.This strip is formed in endless lengths if desired and preferably byextruding uncured thermoplastic material through a die having theconfiguration of the cap strip. Thereafter, the extruded stripping iscured in known manner. Strip 10 may be appropriately described asgenerally inverted J-shaped in cross-section and includes a straightstem or mounting web portion 11. Integral with the upper edge of thisstem is an inverted trough-shaped portion 12 having at least oneinturned rib 13 along its lower edge and preferably a second rib 14.These ribs have sharp edges and may be of V-shape in cross-section withthe apex extending along the free edge of each to facilitate penetrationof the ribs into the carpet nap. A third rib- 15 projects in theopposite direction from the .trough-shaped portion along the upper rearedge of the strip and has a sharp free edge positioned to engage andform a snug seal with the surface of a wall against which the strip isinstalled.

Cap strip 10 is formed from any suitable plastic material such aspolyethylene, polyvinyl chloride or the like, and is compounded toexhibit a Shore hardness selected to render the same semi-rigid, yetflexible enough to facilitate installation of the carpet edge beneaththe cap portion of the strip. It should not be so hard as to crack orsplinter when deformed by an impact blow, or the like, yet capable ofbeing expanded sufiiciently to permit installation of the carpet edgeand then to contract back toward its original manufactured configurationas to force the ribs to penetrate into the nap.

Installation of cap strip 10 is accomplished quickly and inexpensively.The strip is sufficiently soft and flexible as to be shipped either instraight bundles or coiled. In either case, lengths of the strip are cutto size and the rear side of the stem portion 11 is coated with adhesiveor mastic 18 following which the coated strip is pressed against thewall or baseboard with the flexible sealing lip 15 lying along astraight guide line previously applied to the wall. Any excess bondingmaterial escaping beyond the sealing lip is wiped away and the bondingagent is allowed to take a rm set. Thereafter, carpeting 20 is appliedto the floor. Customarily this is after a layer 21 of bonding agent hasbeen applied to the floor and along the side wall and the inwardlyfacing surface of the cap strip. Usually carpeting 20 includes arelatively thick resilient pad 22 firmly anchored to bac-king material23 supporting deep nap or pile material 24. After the carpeting has beenspread over the coated iioor and pressed in place, the excess materialis folded upwardly against the wall and trimmed to a height justsufiicient for its edge to fit snugly within the trough 12 of the capstrip. The trimming operation having been completed by any suitablemeans the upper edge of the trimmed carpet is pressed upwardly intotrough 12. If desired, a suitable tool may be inserted for the purposeof deecting the resilient lip of the cup-shaped portion outwardly toadmit the upper edge of the carpet. Thereafter, the natural resiliencyof the cap strip material is effective to cause the ribs 13 and 14 topenetrate deeply into the nap and form a snug tand close fittingdirt-excluding seal therewith.

While the particular carpet cap strip herein shown and disclosed indetail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing theadvantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the details of construction ordesign herein shown other than as dened in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination at the juncture of a floor and a room side wall, acarpet coping and protective bumper strip embracing and concealing theupturned edge of carpeting along the side wall of the room and providinga snug-fitting self-conforming dirt-excluding coping between the carpetedge and the room side wall, said protective bumper and coping stripcomprising a continuous holeless extruded strip of resilient syntheticthermoplastic material of inverted J-shape in cross-section suflicientlyflexible for shipment in coiled condition, said strip being thin-walledand of substantially the same thickness in all parts thereof andincluding a downwardly extending wide stem portion formed along itswall-facing side with an elongated wide shallow recess suciently deep toreceive and retain a layer of adhesive securing said coping strip to theroom wall without need for the use of fasteners and tools with at leastthe uppermost edge of said coping strip in sealing contact with the wallsurface along a wall strip spaced above and parallel to the oor, andsaid coping strip having the downwardly and inwardly curvedtrough-shaped portion thereof shaped, sized and embracing the upturnededge of a carpet snugly and resiliently and cooperating with theembraced upper edge of the carpet to provide a resilient substantiallydent-proof protective bumper strip along the wall, 'the interior of saidtrough-shaped portion including a plurality of continuous low-heightflexible resilient ribs projecting inwardly and extending lengthwise ofsaid coping strip, and at least one of said ribs being located at thelip edge of said trough-shaped portion penetrating into the carpet napgripping the carpet and excluding entry of foreign material beneath thelip of the cap strip.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 characterized in that thewall-facing side of said stem portion is provided lengthwise of itsupper edge with an upwardly-inclined low-height resilient rib having aself-conforming feather edge compressed against the room side wall orthe like surface as said coping strip is pressed against and bonded tothe wall and conforming itself to surface imperfectionsvand to changesin wall contour thereby providing a uidand dirt-tight seal therewith.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 characterized in that one of saidcontinuous low-height ribs is integral with and comprises the inturnedlip edge of the troughshaped portion of said J-shaped cap strip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,041,899 5/1936 Brand 52-273HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner I. L. RIDGILL, IR., AssistantExaminer U.S. Cl. X.R. 52-287, 716

